Xavi faith in young winger means major role this season

Xavi has taken plenty of criticism in his time as Barcelona manager, despite some great successes. His tactics are increasingly being questioned as he starts his second full season in charge of a team which still sometimes looks like it’s struggling to find an identity in attack.

But there’s one thing that can’t be questioned – his use of kids from La Masia, which has been exceptional. He’s made a real point of promoting youngsters the moment he thinks they’re ready, and that has lead to a lot of debuts and a lot of minutes for players as young as 16.

Ez Abde is not a raw teenager – he made his Barca debut at 19 and is now 21, but as AS note in their piece today on the winger, Xavi has huge faith in him, and considers him a capable replacement for the departed Ousmane Dembele.

They note that established players like Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati have fallen behind Abde in the pecking order, and the Morocco international is now the “12th man” – the first choice off the bench.

Xavi trusts him and is giving him quality minutes, with the attacker proving a really dangerous game-changing option when the coach wants to shake things up.